Method of cleaning out city catch basins



G. W. OTTERSON.

METHOD'OF CLEANING OUT vCITY CATCH BASINS.l APPLICATION man APR. 24, |916. RENEWED ocr. 3, 1922.

@noe nmz Patented Nov. 2B, 1922. 1

vGvEORGIlL W. TTERSON, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR T THE OTTERSON AUTU- EDUCTOR C0., 0F SPRINGFIELD, CHIC), A CORPORATION 0F WASHINGTON.

v METHOD DF CLEANING OUT CITY CATCH BASINS.

Application filed pril 24, 1916, Serial No. 93,051., Renewed October 3, 1922, ierial No. 592,136.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that L'Gnoncu W.. O'rrnnsou, a citizen-ofthe United States, and resident of Seattle, inthe county of King and State of lVashington, have invented a certain new and4 useful Improvement in Methods of Cleaning Out City Catch Basins, of which the following isa specification.

The object of the invention is -to enable' the catch basins 'of cit'y sewerage systems to be cleared of their accumulations in a simple, quick, cheap and cleanly manner. The methods practically V'universally ein.- ployed,ladling out with long-handled dipers or shoveling into buckets which -are liioisted to the surface,-are lengthy-opera tions and correspondingly expensive and are unsanitary for obvious reasons... Inaccordance with my improvement the removal of' the solids from the catch basins and `their elevation to the street level is effected by means of a hydraulic ejector jet, aided by a high velocity jet playing in the basin, the water and solids thus raised being sepa rated and the water or that portion thereof not utilized for the jet returned into the catch basin. The entrainng and elevating action of hydraulic jets is knowinhav'ing been used articularly in hydraulic mining, where the head available by virtue .of water supplies at great heights is utilized' for elevating the gravel washed kdown into the sumps, but, 'as far as I am aware, prior to my invention no one has applied the hydraulic ejector jet to the cleaning out of city catch basins or pointed out a practical method wvherein it could be -so employed.- Inaccordance with the preferred manner of' carryingl out my invention, I

proceed from point to -point where catch upward to a' suitable height above the street level; there I effect a ,separationof the water and solids, utilizing the water to replenish the supply for maintaining the ejecting and elevating jet and returningv the excess into the catch basin so asto leave the saine charged with water. v

The accompanying drawing illustrates schematically a preferred form of apparatus for carrying the invention into effect, the

invention, however, not being limited 'to the particular apparatus.

-is let down into the several catch basins, the

said elevator consisting in the illustrative case'of a casting 5 connected with the lower" ends of pressure and discharge'lines 6 and 7 the said casting havin a nozzle 8 connected with theA pressure `'ne and arranged to deliver its jet inline with a throat 9, below which the material from the catch basin is admitted through a suction intake 10, to be seized by the jet and hurled upward throughthe discharge line, from which the water `and solids are delivered through a spoutl 11 into the forward `compartment .of t e settling bed. Thence the liquid makes its way rearward in a circuitous course 'through and over the baies, until freed of y'endl of which it passes through a pipe 19.

to the inlet of a centrifugal pump 13, which may be driven from the engine ofthe motor vehicle by connections, such as indicated at 14, and the delivery'side of .which is con-- nected with the pressureline 6. By means'- of another line 15 connected with the for? ward end of the glitter 4, the excess water not required for starting the ljet is returned to the catch basin before the fe uipment proceeds to the next location.l This line is provided with a valve 16, in order that, except in event of dangerof the tank becoming overfull, the return of li uid to the catch basin may be delayed unti the cleaning operation has been completed, since the e'ector jet acts most eiiciently with only a mo erate amount of Water in the basin.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the vehicle starts upon its rounds with asupply of water suflicient'to prima the pump. Y At each of the catch basins, une of which is represented at 19, the elevator, or

its suction intake, is lowered through the man-hole 20 as far as it will go, a valve 12. in the line 12 is opened by means of a hand-v wheel shaft 12", and the pump 13 is started, drawing water from the supply and forcing it through the pressure line 6 and through the nozzle 8, so as to entrain and elevate the contents of the basin in the manner that will be well understood. The combined stream of liquid and solids is delivered into the settling bed, where a separation is effected. The liquid thus separated is usedto maintain the ejector jet, being continuously withdrawn by the pump and forced down through the pressure line 6. The stream driven upward by the ejector through the-.discharge line 7 consists of the water of the jet itself,

water drawn in from the basin, and the solids likewise drawn in. Consequentlymore water is delivered into the settling bed than is withdrawn from it for the jet, and in addition the bed receives and retains all thev solids from the basin. This is possible'because the settling bed, that is to sayithe region of separation and withdrawal, whether covered over ornot, is open to the atmosphere. The step of separating the liquid .and solids raised'. from the catch .jbasinhas-v These areto main-'- a number of purposes. tain the ejector and elevator jet; to provide water for agitation, and for addition to the basin contents during cleaning; to provide a supply which will serve ,to start the ejector jet to the next basin operatedupon; to pro.

vide a charge of liquid to be returned to the basin, so as lto leave the same wet after 1t has been cleaned; and to conserve the holdingdcapacity of the apparatus which may be use l In order to loosen the solidified accumulations and to bring them within the range of action of the ejector jet, one or more disintegrating streams y are employed, delivered through an additional line 17 branched off from the outlet of the pump and terminating in a. suitable nozzle 18, whlch may be moved about within the interior of the catch basin As the accumulations disappear the ejector is lowered further, until it finally rests upon the bottom of the catch basin, and when everything is removed the pump is stopped, the elevator raised out ofthe man-hole, and the valve 16 opened to permit the water, except that needed to prime the pump for. the next operation, to flow back intoj the catch basin. The settling bed with its solidsfis then transported to another catch basin 'and the same process repeated, and when .the set.

tling bed is as full of solids as is thought desirable, the vehicle proceeds to an appropriate spot andy its contents are'dumped, Y

This method enables sewer basins andthe like to be cleaned very'expeditiously and effectively, without muss or stench.. and without unsanitary labor.` The power required j is small. The method is not dependent upon contain much or little water, and as heretof the pre-existence of a body of water in the basin, since it starts the ejector jet from an external water supply. Thus, the process is operative whether the basins encountered fore stated it is particularly effective when there is only a slight depth of water around the ejector, the operation being especially satisfactory when the ejector draws in some air through its intake. As the operation removes water from the basin, it-qui'ckly arrives at the most' favorable condition,fas suming the basin to have originally contained a substantial amount of liquid; and thereafter the .small amount desirably present during cleaning, for carrying the material to the intake is supplied through the agitator line 17. Thus an important step is the introduction of additional water into the basin for agitation and to be 'drawn in` by the ejector jet. ,The quantity of water so introduced'can be regulated by means of the valve seenin the line 17. If the basin was originally dry, this lintroduction of water, is advantageous to. supply a medium forcarrying the solids into the intake.l .At

therconclusion of operations, water, is run Aback" `into the basin through the overflow line 15, leavingthe basin well charged with liquid, which is of great importance, because a dry sewer basin is a menace to health. whereas one charged with water' is not.-

What I claim as 'new is: I j 1. rlhe method of cleaningv out catchbasins, which comprises vwithdrawing water from an external supply and therewith initiallycreating4 an ejector, jet,l causing the same to remove and elevate the contentsof the basin, discharging the water and solids in a region open to atmospheric pressure Vand separatingthem, continuously drawing fromy the water thus separatedto maintain v the ejector jet,- introducing `water from the samesouroe into the basin for agitation andI to be drawn Ain and elevatedwith the preexisting; contents as thefcleaning proceeds, and :returning .water to the basin so as to lave-thesame charged with liquid at the` c ose.-

2. The method of cleaning out .catch- 115 basins, which comprises withdrawin' water froman external supply and therewith initlally vcreating an ejector jet, causingjlie same to remove and elevatev the contents of the basin, discharging the water and solids 120 in a region open to atmospheric pressure and separating them, continuously drawing from the? Water thus separated to maintain the ejector jet, and` introducing water from the same source into the basin for agitation and -to be drawn in and elevated with the pre-existing contents as the cleaning proceeds. y

3, The methodof cleaning out catchbasms, whichlcompris'es withdrawing water 130 from an external supply and therewith inmaintain looth the' ejector jet and an indetially creating an ejector jet, causing the pendently movable agitator jet, the latter same to remove and elevate the contents of supplying Water to the basin to be drawn in 10 the basin,discharging the water and solids and elevated with the pre-existing contents 5 in a region open to atmospheric pressure as the cleaning proceeds. and separating them, and simultaneously drawing from the water thus separated to v@rE-ORGE W. OTTERSON. 

